A dog protected an elderly Maine woman who got lost in the woods for four nights after her husband fell down.
When 72-year-old Pamela Helmstadter, her husband, 82-year-old John Helmstadter, and their two dogs went out for a walk on October 13 in Washington County, the couple veered off the trail, WMTW reported on Sunday.
During their outing, John fell and was unable to get on his feet again. The couple did not have their cell phones with them, therefore, his wife went to find help but became disoriented in the process.
A neighbor called law enforcement officers on Wednesday after noticing a package on the couple’s porch that had not been moved for quite some time. In addition, one of the couple’s dogs found its way home.
Authorities launched a search for the couple and eventually found them on Thursday afternoon. However, John Helmstadter had died and officials located his body near his wife.
Images show crews rescuing the woman and taking her out of the woods to recover at a hospital:
When authorities located Pamela, she was severely hypothermic.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Josh Beal of the Maine Warden Service explained the dog that stayed with Pamela may be the one who saved her life amid rain and cool temperatures.
“When the K-9 team located her, her dog was being very protective of her and even laid down on top of her on her chest. It sounds like that’s what the dog would do at night, as well, to help keep her warm,” he said.
A similar instance happened recently when a dog in Washington got help from a deputy when her owner fell outside his cabin and was injured, Breitbart News reported on October 15:
In 2023, a rescue dog in Dorset, England, took a walk with her owner, but he fainted due to low blood sugar. When he tumbled into a ditch, the dog, whose name is Ruby, stayed by his side and began barking to alert neighbors who heard the sound and came to his rescue, per Breitbart News.
